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Friday, November 27, 2009

tore up from the floor up


Let me start by saying that a twenty pound turkey is huge!



Twenty pounds of turkey is definitely bigger than a kids head! We had not had a 30 inch oven and range before this year in the apartment so we had to go all out and cook the biggest things we could find. The bird came out moist and tasty and I have to say that since I have always been a 10-12 pound fowl man myself, thinking that the big birds were dry, this exceeded my expectations - it did sit in a delicious brine of thyme, rosemary and juniper berries for 48 hours - and it was heavily injected with rosemary butter and basted throughout the cooking process - maybe that had something to do with it. There was cornbread stuffing, and green beans and fresh cranberry sauce to accompany the turkey and fine accompaniments they were.



There was noshing to be done before diving into the turkey, though. Black olives stuffed with thyme and chevre were a big hit. A sleeper as they say in big hit terms. The familiar flavor of the black olive was perfect with the soft tang of the chevre balanced gently with the thyme and drizzled with good olive oil and sea salt. I am pleased with this new idea I came up with.



Shrimp cocktail has become de riguer with any amount of feasting we do whether large or small. My son could easily make a meal out this alone and he is the reason for its popularity. Steamed in a dense broth of celery, onion, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper the shrimp had a complex flavor that was as light as a feather and perfect for dipping into the chipotle, horesradish and green onion cocktail sauce.



Wild Alaska salmon smoked with applewood cant be as bad as it sounds - ha, just kidding it was as good as it sounds. Regular old cream cheese and green onions with a little of this salmon on a toasted round of sour dough was about all I needed.



Oyster stew has become a tradition for our Thanksgiving meal and while there are a myriad of recipes for it out there I tend to make it any way I want each and every time - but then again it is only shallots, herbs (thyme in this case since it is our showcase herb this year) butter, sherry if you want, salt/pepper shucked oysters and milk all simmered to perfection.



When you have historically made the best mashed potatoes and you are usually recruited by friends and family to recreate the masterpiece year after year you become a tough act to follow. I am that act and I follow that act with the same dignity and grace that I have done for years. There is nothing special besides my caring hand that I add to the salted and boiled potatoes - sure there is some thyme, cream cheese and a lot of butter and cream but thats it really.



Soft, creamy mashed potatoes are an art.



The cheese plate started as huge slabs of gorgonzola picante, st. agur, thyme encrusted chevre, brie, boursin, some dried figs and apricots and a few crackers.



Made more manageable by putting out smaller pieces the board was less intimidating.



Put boursin in front of my kid and you can pretty much bid it adieu!



We drank Malbec, Proseco, Montepulciano D' Abruzzo, a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and my favorite St. Emillion throughout the courses and each libation loved its chewable counterpart but this dense chocolate and pumpkin pie was was the star of the show in my book.



Creamy pumpkin on a pillow of molten chocolate brownie is a dessert I will be duplicating.




This isnt to say that the flan that refused to release from the mold and the pear tart werent good too because they most definitely were! We will be eating leftovers for days and there will be no complaints. I hope everyone out there has a chance to feast to their fill!

26 comments:

pigpigscorner said...

What a feast! I can't wait to cook turkey this year and the pumpkin on choc is a killer!

Lauren said...

oh man! This looks a million times better than what my mom made!

Fresh Local and Best said...

Everything looks incredible!

Anette said...

What a FEAST!!! It went on and on, I was scrolling through it filling ut with wants and needs... The turkey was massive!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

excellent job... Love the image of the turkey and child's head...

And I want that salmon! what a great idea

And i hope you have a step by step on the pear thingie... Wonderful presentation!

Angel said...

do you EVER do anything simple Dog?! damn! everything looks great....and yummy....cept for that salmon. :/

Melody said...

That turkey sounds awesome! Glad you had a great feast. :)

FOODalogue said...

Looks like a beautiful dinner from start to finish. I like the idea of shrimp, salmon and olives and other light fare for appetizers....this way there's more room for the turkey and all that follows, especially those beautiful desserts.

buffalodick said...

Quite a spread you put on! All looked great to me!

Angie's Recipes said...

hey, dude! You had a really great Thanksgiving feast, hadn't you??!! What you have cooked there were enough for at least 10 persons!

Jenn said...

Wow!!! What a feast. Gosh that turkey is bigger than my head!! lol.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

wow, everything looks sensational. I hope you're going to post the recipe for the pumpkin/chocolate pie.

Marjie said...

And now you know why I have two 30" ovens! How else could you get so much food cooked? It looks like you had a glorious day, indeed.

vanillasugarblog said...

I've never cooked a 20 lb. turkey. I can't even imagine what the heck I would use big enough to marinate it in.
I'm with the kid on this one, I love my cheeses. It is so worth it to fill up on booze and cheese. Love that stuff. Glad you had a good feast.
Is there a 30 lb. goose in the works for Xmas?

Heather S-G said...

Gorgeous...amazing...tempting feast!!! Everything looks fabulous and I wish I could have split myself in 2 and come to eat with you, as well ;)

teresa said...

go ahead and plan on me showing up for thanksgiving next year, mmmkay. holy cow what a delicious spread!

Reeni said...

I agree with LK! Your turkey definitely looks better than my Mom's. I kept telling her to brine it but it didn't happen. Beautiful spread!!

♥peachkins♥ said...

I am eyeing that shrimp cocktail!

Stacey Snacks said...

All looks GORGEOUS, especially that pear tart! Beautiful big bird too.
I will be making "our" turkey pot pie tomorrow......

MrsLavendula said...

everything looks delicious!

Mardi Michels said...

What a wonderful feast! Love the photo of the turkey compared to a kid's head!!!! Happy Thanksgiving...

Anonymous said...

WooHoo! That looks incredible! Sounds like a Happy one and I'm glad!

Jill said...

Bravo!

pinknest said...

And that's how you do.

Love the decadence.

Mo Diva said...

that is amazing! I loved everything!

Tanya Kristine said...

please tell me you had 50 pepole at your t'giving?

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